This invention relates to material-receiving vehicles having a material-receiving container subdivided into one or more compartments for separating materials, especially recyclable materials, such as newsprint, from non-recyclable waste material. More particularly, the invention relates to an improved apparatus for packing the separated materials into the compartments.
Vehicles having compartments for separating different materials are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,425,070 to Howells et al. discloses a conventional, rear-loading trash compactor having an intermediate space between the front cab and the rear compactor which contains separate compartments for recyclable materials. Howells et al. do not, however, disclose any means for compacting the recyclable materials in the separate compartments.
Another prior art reference, German Patent No. DE 3537546 A1, discloses a partitioned refuse vehicle that employs a hydraulically actuated packing platen in each longitudinally extending compartment. The packing platens slide lengthwise of the refuse compartment along longitudinal guide rails or tracks secured to the sidewalls or bottom wall of the refuse compartments.
The rail or track system for guiding the packing platens presents several disadvantages. The rails or tracks are subject to heavy wear because of the strong forces needed to slide the packing platens along. This, in turn, leads to higher maintenance costs and downtime for the refuse vehicle. In addition, the rails or tracks add significantly to the gross weight of the refuse vehicle, resulting in a vehicle that is undesirably heavy and expensive, and significantly reduces the net payload the vehicle can haul.
The present invention is directed to overcoming these and other disadvantages inherent in a track system for guiding the packing platens.